The inspiration
Many times my late mother suggested I write and illustrate a children’s book. Every time, for whatever reason, I resisted.
Until inspiration hit me.
The scurrying ghost crabs spooked my grandson, Oliver, then three, when we were vacationing at Cape Hatteras on the Outer Banks of North Carolina several years ago. My daughter and I unsuccessfully tried to find him a book about ghost crabs, or even a book about crabs in general, at the local bookshop, Buxton Books.
“Well,” my daughter said, “You’ll just have to write one for him.”
The start of Gordy and the Ghost Crab
Once we were home, I did just that, writing a picture book about a boy who visits the beach for the first time, and how his brother’s warnings about ghost crabs frighten him. What would happen if he had to rescue a crab from a girl with a net?
I sketched pictures with markers and colored pencils, and printed it myself for my grandkids. Doing this planted a seed in my head about taking this idea all the way, though. Why not try to get my story published?
Learning Process
So I honed the text, putting my poetry skills to work. Then I met an agent at a conference who was excited about the story. He explained most publishers have their own illustrators. That was okay with me; it had been a long time since I’d done any serious illustrating.
The agent didn’t follow through with me, however, so I decided to work on my drawing skills. I purchased an iPad, but had no idea what drawing app to even use. Having attended art school in the 70s before art was digitalized, I felt at such a disadvantage, yet I was determined to figure this out, to investigate layers and how they worked, and to try all the different brushes.
Then I studied how children’s picture book were laid out, and what sizes to make my illustrations. It was a long involved process with a few hiccups, but as I learned, my skills in using Adobe Sketch improved.
And now I have a publisher, Writer’s Coffee Bar Press! It’s really happening: my dream of publishing a children’s picture book! I wish my mother (and my father) were here to see it.
Gordy and the Ghost Crab
I have a terrific editor,, MaryChris Bradley, who also published my novel, In the Context of Love, under a different imprint. She’s got terrific layout skills and understands the ins-and-outs of children’s publishing. I also owe a big thanks to my lovely and supportive fellow poets for their suggestions on the text!
What I love about this story is it teaches children empathy and how to overcome their fears. Children will learn about ghost and other crabs, as well as conservation, with several, fun informational pages in the back.
